I. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a golf ball, of the type having a peripheral surface having the general shape of a sphere and a plurality of dimples or hollows provided in the peripheral surface and defining, through their intersections with the surface, circles of intersection distributed on the peripheral surface according to a repeating pattern, essentially within elementary surfaces defined by nine equatorial arcs of a circle of the sphere, by virtue of:
three equatorial circles constituting their respective intersections, with the sphere, of three secant equatorial planes two-by-two, at right angles along axes which are themselves secant two-by-two, at right angles to the center of the sphere; PA1 six equatorial circles distributed in three groups of which each is associated on the one hand with one, respectively, of the equatorial planes and on the other hand with one, respectively, of the axes, each group comprising two equatorial circles secant to the respectively correspondent axes, mutually symmetrical with respect to the corresponding respective equatorial plane and angularly offset, with respect thereto, by an angle .alpha. which is not zero and which is less than 90.degree. identical from one group to the other. PA1 24 first elementary surfaces, which are identical or which constitute mutual mirror images with respect to three equatorial planes, in the form of an irregular spherical quadrilateral having a right angle; PA1 8 second identical elementary surfaces, in the form of a spherical equilateral triangle; and PA1 24 third elementary surfaces which are identical or which constitute mutual mirror images with respect to three equatorial planes, in the form of a spherical right triangle.
II. Description of Background and General Information
A golf ball of aforementioned type is described in French application 88 15571 in the name of the Applicant, in a particular case according to which the angle .alpha. is equal to 45.degree., consequently with a particular construction of nine equatorial circles, beginning with a cube inscribed in a sphere.
Such a value of the angle .alpha. results in a subdivision of a peripheral surface of the ball into 48 identical elementary surfaces, in a form of a spherical rectangular triangle, in which the hollows are distributed, at least for the most part.
This method of subdividing the peripheral surface of the ball into an elementary surface provides progress with respect to other types of subdivision, previously known, utilizing a cube inscribed in the sphere corresponding to the peripheral surface of the ball, in that it is more precise and makes it thus possible to increase the homogeneity of the distribution of the hollows and to reduce the fields of the spherical periphery surface of the golf ball which exist between these dimples, which has as a consequence to provide a character which is as unvariable as possible with respect to the orientation of the ball with respect to the hit.